Introducing Riseup Labs

The kind birds from your trusty tech collective have hatched a new organization! We call it Riseup Labs.

For seven years, riseup.net has provided secure, movement-run services to thousands of folks like you. We feel that in an era of automated mass surveillance, it is a deeply radical act to provide secure alternatives to the corporate interweb. Although we still have a lot of work to do to improve reliability and expand capacity, lately we have become limited by the available tools.

Like us, you have probably learned to be very creative at using the tools available to you. But organizing and movement building are really different than promoting a band or managing an office. You can certainly limp along with existing tools, until youtube restricts your video for having political content, or facebook closes your account for violating the laws of any jurisdiction on earth (you are most likely breaking the law somewhere!)

Enter Riseup Labs. Where riseup.net provides services for the movement, Riseup Labs exists to promote the development of tools to meet the unique needs of movement organizing. We have already begun this work. In cooperation with others, Riseup Labs is actively developing social networking software that is geared specifically to the needs of network organizing and democratic collaboration. We are also planning to make riseup.net nearly impossible to shut down, provide new services, and greatly enhance your security and privacy.

But these are just our ideas. We want to hear from you. So here’s our plan. In order to get your input, we are creating a space to allow you to discuss your needs with others, propose your own projects, and vote on proposals from other people. We will work to develop the most desired proposals by providing funding and mentorship. We call this initiative the “Freedom Summer of Code”. We hope to access the vast talent of activist techies worldwide by providing stipends to complete specific projects.

You probably knew this part was coming: in order to pull this off, we need seed money to get started. Amazingly, we have secured $5,000 matching funds, but these are only available to us if you donate too.

In early 2008, Riseup Labs will be able to accept US tax deductible donations as a 501c3 charitable non-profit. If you live in the US, this means that the more you give to Riseup Labs, the less you will be giving to military conquest. How can you pass that up?

Please make donations to:

Riseup Labs PO Box 4282 Seattle, WA 98194

in love and struggle, Riseup Labs